For centuries, stakes for driving into a ground surface have been used to secure articles such as tents whose framework rest on a ground surface and without additional support are unstable. To secure and stabilize the framework of a tent, for example, ropes typically extend from a canvas portion of the tent and are tied to a stake driven into the ground surface.
The simplest form of a stake for securing the stabilizing ropes is a simple elongated metal bar or wooden stick with a sharpened end for driving into the ground surface. In driving such stakes into the ground surface, care must be taken to drive it in at a angle with respect to vertical which is sufficient to ensure the rope will not slip off the stake when under tension. If the angle is insufficient, the rope can walk up the stake and slip over its top.
In order to make the reliability of stakes less dependent on how they are driven into a ground surface, it is known to attach outriggers to the top portion of stakes. These outrigger structures stop a rope from walking up the stake and slipping over its top by extending transversely from the body of the stake, requiring either that the rope be slackened or untied in order to release it from the stake. Although these types of stakes are more reliable than a simple elongated bar or stick, the outrigger structure makes adjustment of the tension in the rope more difficult.